What's Iraq Hiding?

UNITED NATIONS: Thought the latest Iraq crisis was over? It's only just getting started. U.N. inspectors were Thursday turned back from suspected weapons for a fourth consecutive day. And this time Richard Butler, chief weapons inspector, warned gravely that Iraqis were disabling surveillance cameras and hiding sensitive equipment at the sites.

In a letter to the Security Council, Butler revealed that Iraq was taking advantage of the halt in arms inspections to move "key machinery" — including biological warfare devices and missile parts — out of the range of U.N. cameras. "Furthermore, cameras may have been intentionally tampered with," added Butler.

State Department spokesman James P. Rubin called Butler's disclosure "troubling," and added, "It indicates flouting of the will of the international community by Iraq, and it is not a hopeful sign."

Indeed, if Butler's obvious frustration continues to be shared by U.N. envoys in Baghdad — who are being stonewalled in their efforts to get Saddam Hussein to lift his ban on American weapons inspectors — the Security Council may be forced to take action.